MLR Bill Passes House Committee

A bill that would amend two important medical loss ratio provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act was passed by a House committee Thursday.

HR 1206 (Access to Professional Health Insurance Advisors Act of 2011) is best known as an effort to amend the MLR rule to exclude broker and agent fees and commissions from administrative expense calculations. However, the bill would also give states the final say on MLR waiver requests. That authority now rests with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

The 24-14 vote by the House Energy and Commerce Committee clears the way for a potential full House vote.

The MLR is one of the most contentious provisions of the PPACA. It was conceived to force health insurers to spend more of their premium dollars on medical care and health quality improvements.